precedevano

Precedevano is the third-person plural imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb precedere, which means to precede or come before in time or sequence. The imperfect form is used to describe ongoing or habitual actions in the past or to set background in a narrative when another past event is described with a different tense.

Origin and formation: precedere comes from Latin praecedere, from prae- meaning before plus cedere meaning to go. The imperfect of -ere verbs is formed with endings that attach to the stem, yielding forms such as precedevo, precedevi, precedeva, precedevamo, precedevate, precedevano. In the common usage, precedevano specifically refers to “they were preceding” or “they used to precede.”

Usage: The form appears in literary or descriptive contexts to establish the chronology of past events. It can be used with time expressions like prima or prima di to indicate precedence, or to contrast past background events with later actions described in other tenses. A typical example is I fatti precedevano le decisioni, meaning “The events preceded the decisions.”

Translation and related forms: Precedevano translates as “they were preceding” or “they used to precede,” depending on context. The infinitive precedere is regular for -ere verbs; the passato prossimo is formed with avere plus the past participle (avere preceduto). The verb’s etymology traces to Latin praecedere, reinforcing its meaning of going before in time or order.